Yosemite Week One

Tuesday, September 15, I left Rob and Angela's and drove to Yosemite. I arrived at the park about 5:00PM and found out that, to get a site at Camp 4 (the only walk-in, non-reservable campsite in Yosemite...and where all of the climbers hang out), I would need to come back early in the morning. I drove out of the park, made some dinner and found a place to park and sleep in my car for the night. At 7:30 in the morning, I came back and the line was already 30 people deep (they open at 8:30). While I waited, I met a few other people in line, including Dale, who, it turns out, was in Squamish at the same time that I was. Despite being told there were only 25 sites available, I managed to get one, and setup camp, then Dale and I went out to climb.

First climb in the Valley, Bishop's Terrace

Half Dome, from Bishop's Terrace

Thursday, Dale and I climbed again. We drove up to Reed's Pinnacle to do a route called Reed's Direct, which we finished on Reed's Regular Route, rather than attempt the heinous 5.10a offwidth 3^rd pitch. Reed's Direct is a beautiful, long, sustained, 5.9 hand crack.

Reed's Direct Pitch 1 & 2

Dale on top of Reed's Direct Pitch 2

Reed's Regular traverses from the top of Reed's Direct pitch 2 through a chimney, with some 5.6 climbing. It's pretty freaky, with some particularly committing moves at the beginning, sparse gear, and a tight squeeze. I had to take my helmet off to fit through, and, at times, couldn't turn my head from one side to the other!

The tunnel on Reed's Regular Route

Me and Dale on top of Reed's Pinnacle. “On the count of ten, open your eyes!”

Friday, Dale and I climbed a route called Braille Book on Higher Cathedral Rock. Cathedral is on the South side of the valley, with a northern exposure, so it gets less sun...which is key, as it's been seriously hot here. The approach is long, and the book we had was a little vague about how to get there. We got a little lost (I think everyone I have talked to that has done this approach has gotten lost), and ended up hiking up the gully between Higher Cathedral Rock and Middle Cathedral Rock, when we wanted to be east of Higher Cathedral. We had to hike back down and across to the next gully, but finally made it to the base of the route...just after another party. They moved quickly, though, so it was no big deal.

Higher Cathedral Spire from the approach to Cathedral Rock

El Cap, from the base of Middle Cathedral

Dale following pitch one of Braille Book

Dale on pitch three of Braille Book...a less lazy person might have cropped it to exclude my knee

Dale starting up pitch 4 of Braille Book

Dale in his belay tree. Slightly off-route, but really cozy. :-)

The valley from the top of Cathedral Rock. Higher Cathedral Spire near right.

Saturday, I planned to take the day off. Dale was going to hike to Glacier Point, then drive up to Tuolomne, and I was pretty beat after a long day on Braille Book. That morning, however, I got a text from a guy named Paul, in response to an ad I had posted on the Camp 4 bulletin board, and decided to do a couple climbs with him in the afternoon. We climbed a popular, easily accessible, 2 pitch 5.6 called Munginella, then a cool, short finger crack called Grant's Crack (actually, the climb is pretty long, but the difficult section is short).

Half Dome from the top of Munginella

Paul at the top of Grant's Crack

Sunday, Paul and I climbed Snake Dike, 5.7R, on Half Dome. The approach to Half Dome is long, something like 5 or 6 miles, and the descent is about 9 miles. The climb, itself, we did in 9 pitches, plus probably 1000 feet or more of simul-climbing and scrambling to the top. Car to car, the climb took us a little over 13 hours. A great deal of the climbing is easy, but the catch is that there is often little to no protection. You have to be prepared to do 70 foot run-outs on 5.4 terrain. Even on the 5.7 terrain (all friction slab), the run-outs are enough to make you really not want to fall.

Party behind us on first pitch of Snake Dike, beginning a scary friction traverse

Looking down from top of pitch 3 on Snake Dike

Paul on pitch 4 of Snake Dike...or is it the moon?

Paul following pitch 5? An unusual pitch...he is cleaning gear.

Pitch 7: Now that's a normal pitch on Snake Dike!

Me and Paul out of focus on top of Half Dome

Monday, I took a well-deserved day off, and Tuesday I climbed with a guy named Mark. I had to renew my campsite, so we went and did a couple single pitch climbs in the morning, then came back to camp, and did some more climbs in the afternoon. Mark was really gung-ho and pushed me to do a little more than I wanted to, when, really, I was still kind of tired from a long day on Sunday. Other than that, though, we had a great day and did some really fun climbs. I was very happy to successfully lead the crux pitch of Commitment (5.9), even though I think it's a pretty soft 9.

Mark at the second pitch belay on Commitment, below the crux roof

Mark at the top of Jam Crack

Wednesday, Mark and I set out to climb the East Buttress of Middle Cathedral. We left camp around 6:00AM, and were at the base of the route by 7:30 or 8:00. On the approach, however, I started to question the wisdom of me attempting this climb (9 pitches, 5.9 A0, or 10c). I was really dragging and my feet were tired and sore. I told Mark I was worried about it and he convinced me to try the first pitch. It was easy climbing, but still kicked my ass. There was no way I could keep going. We rappelled down and I took the rest of the day off. I felt bad for bailing on Mark, but I wasn't going to have any fun on the climb, and could have endangered us both by continuing when I was in no shape to do so. Much better to climb another day....

Route List for 9/16-22:

• Bishop's Terrace (5.8, Trad) (TR clean)

• Claude's Delight (5.7, Trad) (Onsight)

• Leina's Lieback (5.9, Trad) (TR clean)

• Reed's Direct To Reed's Regular (4 pitches, 5.9, Trad) (Followed 1 clean, 2 with some falling/hanging, 4 clean; Onsight 3)

• Braille Book (5 pitches, 5.8, Trad) (Onsight 1, 3, 5; followed 2, 4 clean)

• Munginella (2 pitches, 5.6, Trad) (Followed 1, Onsight 2)

• Grant's Crack (5.9, Trad) (Onsight)

• Snake Dike (9 pitches, 5.7R, Mixed) (Led odd pitches, all clean)

• After 7 (5.8 ,Trad) (Onsight)

• Nutcracker Alternate Start Pitch One (5.9, trad) (TR clean)

• Commitment (3 pitches, 5.9, Trad) (Onsight pitch 1 and 3, followed pitch 2 clean)

• Jam Crack (2 pitches, 5.9, Trad) (Followed Clean)

From BRC to Reno, to SF

After helping tear down camp, and leaving Burning Man, I joined several others of the Pandora's Crew to help unload the truck into the camp's storage unit in Fernley, NV. We got the truck unloaded, the trash taken to the dump, the storage unit packed, and the truck washed, then went for pizza. Food that wasn't mixed with Playa dust. How novel!

After pizza, we all headed for Reno, where we spent the night at the Peppermill hotel and casino. A nice steam shower did wonders towards making me feel human again, after a week of being encrusted with alkaline dust. After showers, it was time for drinks, then slot machine lessons from Rex, a.k.a. "How to lose $20 as slowly as possible (while getting free drinks)". When we finished losing our money for the night, we headed back to the room, had a few more drinks, and one by one, crashed out....

I hung around Reno for one more night, with a few other stragglers, then did laundry, and headed out for California on Wednesday. I hadn't decided yet, what I was doing, so I drove, more less toward Yosemite, taking California Highway 88 through Eldorado National Forest. I stopped near the edge of the forest to camp for the night.

In the morning, I decided to contact my good friends Robert and Angela and see if I could stay with them for a few days at their home in San Rafael. They said sure, so I headed there. I really wanted to get my blog caught up before I headed to Yosemite, and also needed to have access to wi-fi on Sunday for the annual Raven's Loft Hockey League Entry Draft.... Just smile and nod. You really don't want me to explain it.

I arrived at Robert and Angela's Thursday evening. Friday night, I talked to my friend, Matt, who moved to San Francisco from St. Louis about a year ago, and we decided to go climbing on Saturday. I drove down to his apartment and picked up him and his friend, Jess, and we headed for Castle Rock State Park, south of San Jose. We got a couple top-rope climbs in, but the heat did a number on us, and we wore out quickly, and headed home.

For some reason, my car was really struggling on the way back. It stalled out several times, and going up hills was a real ordeal. I'm not sure what was going on.... I can't imagine that it was just the extra two passengers, but, everything seemed fine again on the drive from Matt's back to Rob and Angela's. So, I'm keeping my fingers crossed.

Last night, Rob and Angela hosted a "budget gourmet" French night. Some friends of theirs came over, brought fabulous French food, and we all hung out, ate, drank wine, and played Mille Bounes, and Taboo. All-in-all, a great night with friends old and new.

So, I guess that's it! You are all finally up to date on my life! Enjoy it while it lasts. :-)

Tomorrow, I head to Yosemite!

Route List for 9/12:

• Triple Overhang (5.9) (TR, clean on second attempt...a pretty hard 5.9)
• "Jess's Route" (5.7-ish) (TR, clean, not in the book...a little TR improv)

Burning The Man

Sunday evening, I met up with Katie, yet another friend from St. Louis, who has recently migrated West, in Winnemucca, NV, where she is living. We had dinner and drinks and plenty of great conversation. Monday morning, Katie made me breakfast, and then I headed out for Black Rock City.

The most direct way to get there from Winnemucca was by taking a nearly 100 mile gravel road. The alternatively was nearly twice as long, but on good highway. I opted for the gravel road. A short ways in, I passed a van stopped that had had a flat tire. Their spare was low on air and they were contemplating turning around. I couldn't help them, so I went on. I was driving pretty fast at this point. The gravel was not rutted or washboarded, and it seemed pretty safe. I then passed a truck going the other direction, and the driver flagged me down. They, too, had had a flat and were turning back. Apparently, the road is littered with sharp rocks that are murder on tires. I was over a third of the way (maybe half way?) by this point, so I didn't want to turn around. I slowed it down, and drove very carefully the rest of the way. I passed a sign with the mileage to Gerlach (the closest permanent town to BRC), and started watching the odometer. I felt like I was in a video game, watching the timer tick down to the end of the level, trying to stay alive..... I made it without mishap, but passed another couple in a rented SUV, with a flat tire, probably only 3 or 4 miles from the end of the gravel....

My first view of Black Rock City, from the road on the drive in....

I made it through the entry line, got my ticket from Will Call, and and located my camp, Pandora's Lounge And Fix-It Shop. I got in touch with this group through my friend, Cheryl, from St. Louis. Somehow, though, I neglected to take any pictures of the camp or the people I camped with. In retrospect, this was rather silly of me. Oh well, I'll just have to keep in touch with people and remember them that way, I suppose. :-)

A great deal of my time at Burning Man was spent just wandering the city taking in as much as I could of all that there was to see. It's impossible, nay, even inconceivable to experience all that BRC has to offer, but I did my best. Here's a tiny taste....

The Raygun Gothic Rocketship

The Man

"Portal of Evolution" - The top spins, and you can climb up and sit in it...

I love this piece. It's hard for me to say exactly what it is about it that inspires me...something about the organic lines portrayed so effectively through the industrial medium.....

I just find it beautiful.....

One of the coolest "art cars" on the playa. I wish I had a better picture of it.

There were several "Flintstones" cars running around...

The man at night

Yeah, it's a giant, glowing rubber duck. The surreal is commonplace on the Playa.

Giant Rubik's Cube. The best part is that it really "worked". People were trying to solve it, and you could watch the patterns change.

The Temple at night

Beginning to burn The Man

The Temple burns....

All-in-all, Burning Man was a unique and special experience. I have yet to decide if it's something I will do again, but it's certainly something I'm glad to have done.

Oh, yeah, I did run into Joe. He came by Pandora's and hung out a couple of times. I suspect it's not the last I've seen of him.... :-)

Seattle, Portland, and Smith Rock

After leaving Squamish, I headed back to Seattle. The day before my temporary tags expired, the dealership finally got the title for my car from the previous owner's bank, so I had them mail it to Tom and Sarah. I spent a night at their house, got the title in the mail to Melissa so she could complete the transfer of my plates for me, and then met up with my friend, Tiffanie, for dinner. After a pleasant evening of sushi, wine, and hanging out with good folks, I crashed at Tiffanie's for the night, then headed on to my next stop, Portland. There, I caught up with Ellen, to continue the catching up with old friends portion of my adventure. More food, more drinking, and another night crashing on a couch, then I drove to Smith Rock, to meet up with another Geoff, who I connected with through Mountain Project.

After we had gotten 3 climbs in, it was starting to look like rain. Geoff assured me, "We're in the desert. It almost never rains here", or something to that effect. So, I started leading a fourth climb. I was glad that I chose an easy, bolted climb, because I was about half way up when the rain hit. It didn't pour or anything, but it was coming down fairly steadily. I finished the route, rapped down and cleaned it, and we packed up and called it a day.

Saturday, we did a fun 5.7 called Spiderman, a fantastic 5.9 called Sundown, and a very challenging 5.10d arete called Moons of Pluto. Then, I decided to lead a "5.8" called Cling-On. I knew before I even got off the ground that this climb was going to be more than I bargained for. The route laybacks up a corner, with slimy hands and slick feet. you can occasionally stem to good feet for rests, but then getting back into the climb is tricky. I fell at the crux when a foot slipped, and an orange alien, which I had placed hastily and blindly, popped. I had placed a lot of gear, so my fall still wasn't long, but, none-the-less, it freaked me out (and the climb had me freaked out to begin with). I got back on the climb, got another (good) piece in, and climbed above it and down-climbed several times. I eventually committed to it and got one more higher piece. Above this, there were two options: pull around the corner into a weird, flaring chimney thing, or run it out up relatively easy face climbing. I tried going straight up the face, but, at the top, didn't want to commit, and ended up down-climbing and lowering off. Geoff finished the route, pulling around into the crack where there was good protection...obviously the right way to go. I didn't even want to top-rope it. I was totally done.

Looking out from the top of Bookworm, I think

Geoff rappelling down Bookworm (I think)

Monkey Face (We didn't climb it. The easiest route is 5.8 A0)

A panoramic view from the west side (I think) of Smith Rock

After Geoff left, I headed back to the campground, where I randomly ran into Joe, a climber who I met in South Dakota. He is also on a hiatus from work, traveling and climbing around the West. What's more, he was also on his way to Burning Man.

Sunday, I got up, had breakfast, organized my gear, said goodbye to Joe, and headed out for Winnemucca, NV, on my way to Burning Man......

Route List for 8/25-8/29:

• Pack Animal Pitch 1 (5.8, Trad) (Onsight)
• Pack Animal Direct (5.10a Trad) (TR Clean)
• Bookworm (5.7 Trad) (TR Clean)
• Bunny Face (5.7 Sport) (Onsight)
• Spiderman (5.7 Trad) (Onsight)
• Sundown (5.9 Trad) (TR Clean)
• Moons Of Pluto (5.10d Sport) (TR Clean)
• Cling-On ("5.8" Trad) (DNF)
  

Squamish

I've been thinking for weeks about a clever title for my blog entry about my Squamish experience, but finally gave up. That's my excuse for why I'm so late in writing this. :-)

So, after a pleasant visit and lovely dinner (corn chowder and salmon. Yum!) with Tom and Sarah in Seattle, I headed north to Squamish, BC. Once again, I managed to cross the border without incident. This made me 3 for 7 in the last year (2 for 4 entering Canada...). I met up with Tom, who I had contacted through Mountain Project. Tom claimed I was the spitting image of Jeep Gaskin, who he used to climb with back in the day. I think it's just the beard and crazy hair. :)

On Tuesday, 8/18, Tom and I climbed at the Smoke Bluffs, a nice, mostly single pitch, crag north of The Chief (home of most of the long, multi-pitch climbs in the area). We climbed well together, and got several fun climbs in. Regrettably, all of the pictures I took during the first 2/3 of my time at Squamish were eaten by a corrupt SD card. I have not completely given up on recovering them, but I'm pretty sure they are toast. I do have a handful of pics from my second day out that Tom took and sent to me.

So, the following day, we climbed at the base of the Grand Wall, on The Chief. We did a really incredible, 2 pitch finger crack, called Exasperator, there, then did the first pitch of Rutabaga, a really tricky, technical 5.10b. Finally, we headed back to the Smoke Bluffs and climbed Supervalue, 5.10c. Man, is that a climb that keeps coming at you. It starts off with a spooky, undercling slab, pulling around a corner, then throws some tricky face climbing at you, and finishes up on a great hand crack...with some tricky moves at the top, just in case you thought it was over....

Finally getting a rest at the top of the second pitch of Exasperator

On the third day, we got a slow start, and never really picked up. Tom had to leave reasonably early to drive back to Washington, so we headed back to the Smoke Bluffs, this time heading for the Penny Lane area. We ended up doing just one climb, a 5.11a called Climb and Punishment. It was something Tom had been wanting to get back on. He struggled a little, but made it up. After struggling to even get off the ground, I, eventually, flailed my way up it on top rope. There was a really nice looking 8 nearby, but after the previous climb, I was too gassed to want to try it. So, Tom headed for home, and I went to do some shopping and find a new campsite (I spent the first few nights at a commercial campground that Tom wanted to stay at, but which was a bit pricey to stay at alone). I found a site (the last one available at the Chief campground), which I ended up sharing with a Brazilian guy named Philip, who was riding his motorcycle from California to Alaska. It was the same price for 2 people as for one, so I was happy to share.

The next day, I drove into Vancouver. I went shopping for a new pack, as my Osprey that I use for a crag pack had blown a zipper, then went to meet up with a very very good, old friend, Jeff. Jeff works at EA, so I met him at work and he took me for a tour of the campus. I have to say, from what I saw, they have it pretty good there. He seems to enjoy it. After the tour, we went back to his place, had dinner, hung out with his family, played Carcasonne, and generally had a pleasant evening. Jeff is one of those people I always enjoy spending time with. It was great to get a chance to catch up. I hope it's not 8 years (or whatever it was) before we see each other again!

The next morning, I got up early and drove back to Squamish. I got there in time to say goodbye to Philip, who was heading out to continue his journey to Alaska, and managed to hook up with Andrew and Gabe, from the campsite next to mine, to climb for the day. Once again, we headed to the Smoke Bluffs. By this time, I was really aching to get on one of the longer routes on the Chief, but it just hadn't worked out yet. In the meantime, I was happy to be climbing.

We started out at Crag X, near Supervalue. Gabe is a 15 year old kid. He's a strong sport climber (can probably onsight most 11's, and works 12's, and even some 13's), but has virtually no trad experience. Despite this, he was very gung-ho, thinking he should be able to waltz up 5.10 trad routes...after all, it's only 5.10. The crag was pretty busy when we got there, so, for our first climb, we chose one that was open...a 5.9 trad route. It was mostly easy, with a short, overhanging diheral, crux. I led it, taking one short fall at the crux. I lowered off and we pulled the rope, so that Gabe could pink-point it. He got completely stymied at the crux and lowered off. Andrew finished the route and cleaned it. I've got nothing against Gabe. He's a strong climber and a good kid. It just goes to show that not all climbs are created equal.

From there, we walked down to look at Zombie Roof, a 5.13a roof crack. Again, Gabe thinks that because he's climbed a 13a somewhere, he should be able to get on this.... Uh, yeah, think again. So, we looked, instead, at a 5.11 mixed route with a gear protected start that leads to a cruxy, bolt protected, slab. Andrew led the start, amazingly stemming the entire thing, across a stem box that had to be at least 6 feet wide. It was quite a sight. Andrew bailed after the first bolt on the slab and Gabe finished the route. I tried it on top-rope, and couldn't get past the second move. Somewhere around the time we were finishing up on this, Yuji Hirayama showed up, with a small entourage. They warmed up on a 5.12 nearby, then Yuji on-sighted Zombie Roof. It was quite a spectacle, and I deeply regret that my photos of this are among the ones my SD card ate. After watching the show for a while, I decided to climb a 5.9 called Old Age. Really, I think the only thing that would make it 5.9 is avoiding grabbing onto a tree growing out of the middle of the crack at the start, which I failed to do, because I didn't have any gear in, hadn't brought a sling I could sling the tree with, and didn't want to chance a ground fall. Regardless, it was a fun climb with some unique moves pulling out of a chimney toward the top. Some time after this, we watched Yuji red-point a 5.13b which he had tried to on-sight earlier, and then called it a day and headed back to camp.

On Sunday, Andrew and I did our own things while Gabe went climbing with Jesse, a friend that he and Andrew knew from Edmonton, and who we had randomly run into the previous day. I hiked to the top of the Chief, and took some great pictures which no one will ever see thanks to my faulty SD card. Blah. All the same, I had a great hike.

Monday, Andrew, Gabe, Jesse and I set out to do a multi-pitch climb. Finally! We set our eyes on Snake, a 5 pitch 5.9 on the Apron of the Chief. We would climb in two pairs of two, with Andrew leading and Gabe seconding, and me leading with Jesse seconding, since neither Gabe nor Jesse had trad leading experience. I pointed out Sunday night that we should get an early start. We didn't. I think we left camp around noon. Still, it's only a 5 pitch climb, right? When we arrived at the base, there were two parties of three ahead of us. One was on the proper first pitch and one was on the 5.easy approach pitch (climbing it roped). The first party was moving quickly, belaying both followers at the same time on double ropes. The second party...wasn't moving so quickly.

The first pitch was 5.7, but featured a fairly long section of unprotected climbing above a ledge, just below the anchor. It took quite a bit of psyching up, and a fair amount of time working out the moves for me to push through it. The second pitch was mostly easy traversing on large ledges, with a short 5.9 crux near the end. There were a couple of options, but the way I went took good (albeit small) gear. The third pitch had some challenging laybacking, and then, just below the anchor, a freaking hard move, above a ledge, with no gear that would keep you from decking. Kudos to Andrew for pulling it off. Gabe dropped me a sling and I aided through it. I swear it was a solid 5.10 move. Andrew reported that the fourth pitch was even thinner and scarier, and, by this point, light was failing. I brought Jesse up, then Gabe trailed our rope. They then dropped the first rope back down, Jesse climbed on our rope, and clipped the first rope into the directionals for me to climb on. I was happy not to be on lead for a really tricky traversing move, which I fell trying to pull. I led the final 5.7 pitch by head-lamp, and then the real adventure began: getting down. We estimate that we summited around 9:00PM. We didn't make it off the mountain until 2:30AM. Man, what a day! Despite it all, though, I had a fantastic time. Andrew and Jesse were a blast to climb with, and Gabe held up well in his first multi-pitch trad epic.

Andrew and Jesse waiting to start the climb

Andrew leading the first pitch

Gabe following the second pitch

View from the first pitch belay

Jesse following the crux of the second pitch, as Andrew says "Rock on!!!"

Looking up at the fourth pitch

Andrew celebrating at the top of the fourth pitch

Tuesday, Gabe, Andrew, and Jesse all headed out, and I decided to do so as well. After all, it would be hard to top that experience!

Route List for 8/18-28:

• Corner Crack (5.7 Trad) (Onsight)
• Flying Circus (5.10a Trad) (Top-Rope Clean)
• Neat And Cool (5.10a Trad) (Top-Rope Clean)
• S-M's Delight (5.10b Trad) (Top-Rope)
• Mosquito (5.8 Trad) (Red-point)
• Exasperator (2 pitches, 5.10d, Trad) (Top-Rope Clean)
• Rutabaga Pitch 1 (5.10b, Trad) (Top-Rope)
• Supervalue (5.10c, mixed) (Top-Rope Clean)
• Climb And Punishment (5.11a Trad) (Top-Rope Flail)
• Picket Line (5.9 Trad) (Led with one fall)
• Old Age (5.9? Trad) (Led, grabbed a tree)
• Snake (5 pitches, 5.9HARD, Trad) (onsight pitches 1, 2, 5; aided crux on pitch 3; top-roped pitch 4)